The overuse of antibiotics over the last 60 years has made some infection-causing organisms antibiotic resistant. This makes controlling infections both more difficult and more important for hospitals.

Monitoring antibiotics is, therefore, an important job of the Wyoming Medical Center.

While Patients must receive the correct antibiotic an hour before their surgery, physicians must be cautious about giving out too many antibiotics in other areas of medicine, said Dr. Mark Dowell, an infectious disease physician and head of infection control at the Wyoming Medical Center.

In an outpatient setting, 50 to 60 percent of patients who seek medical care for a cold receive an antibiotic, Dowell said. A cold is a virus and an antibiotic has no effect on it.

Also, Dowell said 70 percent of sinus infections are viral, but 70 percent of patients who go to the doctor's office with a sinus infection receive an antibiotic.

One third of hospital patients are on antibiotics. Many of them are on the wrong antibiotic, the antibiotic is unnecessary or it is used too long, Dowell said.

"You can see the problem. It is important for health care providers to explain to patients why they are giving an antibiotic," he said.

To combat the overuse of antibiotics, Dowell said he has done a "tremendous" amount of education with the hospital staff. He also works with physicians in private doctor's offices and nursing homes on the proper use of antibiotics.

Dowell also holds clinics in Gillette, Rock Springs, Laramie and Riverton, where he feels he has had an impact on people's antibiotic use.

For more on this story, click here to learn more about the issue of hospital infections. Also, click here to find out what hospitals are doing to prevent infections, and click here to find out what you can do before surgery to avoid infections.